


300 Years of Ferrying Souls

by WriterOSaur



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Flying Dutchman, curse, slight timeline change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22726258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterOSaur/pseuds/WriterOSaur
Summary: At which Henry Turner didn’t break the curse, and Will Turner is forced to watch the world develop around him as he continues to ferry souls throughout the years.
Kudos: 10





	300 Years of Ferrying Souls

The first time Will had to ferry a soul, he almost couldn’t do it. The sadness that came off of the sailor made him want to leave him there, and hopefully by doing that death wouldn’t calm him and the man would be able to live on. The thought of Elizabeth was what made him pull the unfortunate man onboard.

His first sinking ship was even worse. By then he was used to his job, and was able to pull the dead men onboard without a second thought. But the fire that lit up the night sky, and the cries of help from the still living men made him wish he could somehow, let them live just like he had when he first started as the Dutchman’s captain. The men that he pulled on board told him the story of the slaughter that had happened an hour before, and Will stayed, watching over the men who were still fighting to stay alive until they were safely onboard another ship, or so that they could peacefully pass on with the other crewmen who didn’t make it either.

The first time he had to ferry a child, Will almost cried. Their innocence was still present, and they couldn’t understand that they were dead, that yes they did drown in the big scary ocean, and that mother wasn’t coming. During the trip, Will fell into a father type role to the lost child. It made him think of Henry back home.

If Will had to be honest, he truly thought that Captain Jack Sparrow couldn’t die. But here he was, standing on the deck of the Dutchman watching the remains of his beloved ship burn and sink down to the bottom of the ocean. When he voiced his thoughts, Jack only grinned.

“I guess my time had to come at some point, huh mate?” He said. Will wasn’t ashamed to admit that, when it was time for Jack to get off the ship and move on, he gave the pirate captain the biggest hug he could.

He continued to ferry souls, comfort lost children, and visit Elizabeth and Henry every ten years. But when he had to ferry Henry, he lost it.

“I was trying to find some way to break the curse,” he said. “I guess I didn’t do a good job.” When it was time for Henry to move on, the crew had to pull Will off of his son. They didn’t blame him when he locked himself in his cabin for a few days after.

Will was relieved when Elizabeth died on land. It meant he didn’t have to ferry her, that he didn’t have to deal with the pain it brought once again like it did with the last two. But it also meant that he couldn’t comfort her during her last moments, to tell her how much he loved her as she took her last breath. When the next ten year mark came by, Will treated himself and his crew at Tortuga.

Over the next few centuries, Will watched as pirates died out, as the navy started to win, and as technology developed. Ships got faster, and safer, he found that he had to ferry less and less people. His sadness returned when a ship hit an iceberg and sunk in only a few short hours. The amount of people, the amount of children, he had to ferry caused him to make a few trips because of the limited space onboard his ship. Each trip was harder than the last. Later, once his job was finished, he stuck around to make sure the survivors got safety onto a ship to ease his mind.

He watched as ships continued to develop, and every ten years when he was able to step onto land he explored the developing lands. As time went on he started to feel out of place, as his dirty pirate clothes stood out against the newest clothes from the current time. He found himself spending more and more of those days sticking close to his ship, the only thing that was still familiar to him at that point. 

When the 300 year mark hit, Will found himself bored. Ferrying souls who died at sea became a rare thing with the new ships, and without the ability to go onto land whenever he wanted, there was nothing to do. The crew entertained themselves the best they could, but their outdated ship couldn’t provide.

When another decade hit, Calypso stepped onto the ship.

“You’ve been doing your job well,” she said. Will smiled, and pretended like he couldn’t tell the crew was standing behind him, waiting.

“It’s become quite useless now,” he replied. “Not many people die at sea anymore.” Calypso nodded.

“That’s why I decided to life the curse.” The crew cheered. Will didn’t realize tears were running down his face until his father wiped them away. Calypso gave them pity, which Will was glad for, and didn’t force them to learn how to live in the modern world. She finally let the crew rest.

Elizabeth, Henry, and Jack greeted him on the other side.


End file.
